[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 151 (2005), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8560-8561]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




        HONORABLE JUDGE GEORGE N. LEIGHTON POST OFFICE BUILDING

  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the bill 
(H.R. 1542) to designate the facility of the United States Postal 
Service located at 695 Pleasant Street in New Bedford, Massachusetts, 
as the ``Honorable Judge George N. Leighton Post Office Building.''
  The Clerk read as follows:

                               H.R. 1542

       Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of 
     the United States of America in Congress assembled,

     SECTION 1. HONORABLE JUDGE GEORGE N. LEIGHTON POST OFFICE 
                   BUILDING.

       (a) Designation.--The facility of the United States Postal 
     Service located at 695 Pleasant Street in New Bedford, 
     Massachusetts, shall be known and designated as the 
     ``Honorable Judge George N. Leighton Post Office Building''.
       (b) References.--Any reference in a law, map, regulation, 
     document, paper, or other record of the United States to the 
     facility referred to in subsection (a) shall be deemed to be 
     a reference to the ``Honorable Judge George N. Leighton Post 
     Office Building''.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
Connecticut (Mr. Shays) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Davis) 
each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays).


                             General Leave

  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days within which to revise and extend their remarks 
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from Connecticut?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, H.R. 1542 names this postal facility in New Bedford 
Massachusetts as the ``Honorable Judge George N. Leighton Post Office 
Building.'' This fitting tribute honors a notable and ground-breaking 
judicial figure. Judge Leighton was born George Neves Leitao in New 
Bedford, Massachusetts on October 22, 1912. As a young man, Leitao 
fought for our Nation in World War II and was awarded the Bronze Star 
for his courageous service. After he returned safely home from the war, 
he pursued his dreams of going to law school and earned a law degree 
from Harvard in 1946.
  After graduation he moved to Chicago to pursue his career in the law. 
He ultimately became a judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, 
Illinois in 1964, and in 1969 he was elevated to judge of the Appellate 
Court, First District. In that capacity Judge Leighton became the first 
African American judge to sit on the Illinois Appellate Court.
  Mr. Speaker, President Gerald Ford recognized Judge Leighton's 
judicial prowess and appointed him to the United States District Court 
for the Northern District of Illinois in 1976. His distinguished tenure 
as a Federal judge lasted until 1987.
  Mr. Speaker, Judge George Leighton was a great legal mind who also 
was a professor at the John Marshall School of Law in Chicago for more 
than a quarter of a century. I thank the gentleman from Massachusetts 
(Mr. Frank) for offering H.R. 1542. I know he is proud of Judge 
Leighton, who, at 95 years of age, continues to be the pride of all New 
Bedford residents.
  Judge Leighton is tremendously deserving of this honor, and it is 
terrific that this post office will hopefully soon carry his name. I 
urge all Members to support this bill.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may 
consume.
  Mr. Speaker, as a member of the House Committee on Government Reform, 
I am pleased to join my colleague in consideration of H.R. 1542, 
legislation naming a postal facility in New Bedford, Massachusetts 
after Judge George N. Leighton. This measure, which was introduced by 
the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) on April 12, 2005, and 
unanimously reported by our committee on April 13, 2005, enjoys the 
support and cosponsorship of the entire Massachusetts delegation.
  George Leighton was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, the son of 
natives of the African coastal Cape Verde Islands. Raised in New 
Bedford, he worked as a berry picker, dishwasher, and cook. After 
winning an essay contest, George used the prize money to pay the first 
semester tuition at Howard University in Washington, D.C.
  Although not the recipient of a high school education, George went on 
to graduate from Howard in 1940, magna cum laude. He was accepted into 
Harvard Law School, graduating after serving 3 years in the infantry in 
World War II.
  In 1947 George Leighton was admitted to the Bar of the State of 
Illinois. He became active in civic affairs, serving as chairman of the 
Chicago National Association for the Advancement of Colored People, 
NAACP, Political Action Committee and Legal Redress Committee.
  Throughout his legal practice, Judge Leighton was involved in cases 
of national importance for many African Americans. His cases resulted 
in the desegregation of public schools in Harrisburg, Illinois and the 
release of a man sentenced to death row.
  In 1964 George Leighton was elected a judge in the Circuit Court of 
Cook County, and in 1976 President Ford appointed him to the U.S. 
District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
  Judge Leighton, the recipient of numerous awards, honors, and 
honorary degrees, retired from the bench in 1987. Currently, a young 
man in his 90s, Judge Leighton serves ``Of Counsel'' in the Chicago law 
firm of Neal & Leroy and teaches as an adjunct professor at John 
Marshall Law School.

                              {time}  1045

  He is also a master chess player.
  Mr. Speaker, I commend my colleague for sponsoring H.R. 1542, and I 
might note that Judge Leighton was appointed to the Federal bench by 
President Ford, a Republican. Judge Leighton in Chicago was always 
known to all of us as a Democrat and was very active in Chicago 
Democratic politics and political circles. So I think it is noteworthy 
that he was appointed by a Republican President. I never knew that he 
had lived and grown up in Massachusetts, but obviously he did.
  Mr. Speaker, I see that we are fortunate, because the sponsor of this 
legislation, the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), is just 
entering the Chamber, and I know that he wanted to be able to make some 
comments, so he is very timely. I want to thank the gentleman from 
Massachusetts (Mr. Frank) for honoring and recognizing a person that I 
always thought was a native of Chicago. I did not know that he was 
actually a native of New Bedford, Massachusetts.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield such time as he may consume to the gentleman 
from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), the sponsor of the legislation.
  Mr. FRANK of Massachusetts. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman from 
Illinois and the gentleman from Connecticut, good friends who kept 
debate alive so I could get here. I was in a hearing where I am the 
ranking member of the Committee on Financial Services, and I appreciate 
the chance to speak.
  Let me say to my friend from Chicago that we are delighted to have 
lent you this very distinguished jurist,

[[Page 8561]]

Judge Leighton. He has come back home now. Chicago was a nice place to 
visit, and the visit did last many decades; but I am delighted to have 
had the chance to respond to the unanimous vote of the City Council of 
New Bedford urging me to introduce this legislation. I appreciate the 
committee's processing it.
  I think, as the gentleman from Illinois mentioned, I am delighted to 
be here on behalf of a Republican nominee to the Federal bench. Judge 
Leighton was an appointment of President Gerald Ford. Judge Leighton is 
a man who, in his own right as a jurist, as a distinguished legal 
scholar, deserves recognition. It does not, I think, diminish one iota, 
but rather enhances him, to note that he is not simply an extremely 
distinguished judge, a man who, born into difficult circumstances to 
immigrant parents who did everything they could to provide him with the 
opportunities; a man whose education was interrupted by service in 
World War II, so he overcame a number of obstacles and, despite that, 
graduated from law school and earned an appointment to the Federal 
bench and earned a great reputation on the Federal bench.
  In addition, it is important to note, given the nature of this 
country and the fact that we are a country that has drawn enormous 
strength from immigration, from people coming from all over the world, 
the thing about immigrants is that they are not a random sample of the 
population from which they come. Immigration is itself an act that 
shows entrepreneurship and energy. Lazy people on the whole do not 
immigrate to foreign countries where they do not even speak the 
language. The very fact of immigration is a sign of a degree of 
eagerness to better yourselves, to work hard for yourselves and your 
family.
  So I do not think it is an accident that our national prosperity and 
thriving democracy has been strengthened by our being the place where 
some of the most energetic and entrepreneurial people from all over the 
world come.
  Judge Leighton's parents were in that category. They come from the 
Island Republic of Cape Cabo Verde, and it is a country which has 
recently been recognized by this administration for its commitment to 
democracy and its vigorous support for economic development by being in 
the very first group of countries that qualified for the Millennium 
Challenge Account.
  Judge Leighton was in that first wave of Cape Verdean immigrants, a 
man born in 1912; and I do note for the record that Judge Leighton is 
exactly 2 days younger than my mother, as I looked at his birth date; 
and he is one of the people who was in the lead in this particular 
ethnic group, people of Cape Verdean descent, taking their place in 
America, as so many groups before them and after them continue to do. 
It is a source of great pride to the people of Cape Verdean descent and 
to the people of the Republic of Cape Verde that a man born to Cape 
Verdean immigrant parents rose by dint of his own intelligence and 
commitment to this very distinguished position.
  I am particularly grateful that July 5 is Cape Verdean Independence 
Day, and I will be marching in a parade then, as I always do, sponsored 
by a very important organization, the Cape Verdean Veterans 
Association. Cape Verdeans have, from the moment of their coming here, 
been strongly patriotic Americans and they have a strong tradition and 
identification with the armed services.
  I am very proud that one of the people who works for me in 
Massachusetts, Ervin Russell, is a Vietnam veteran, an in-country 
Vietnam veteran of Cape Verdean descent who is very active with that 
organization; and on July 5, we are looking forward to, after 
completing this parade run by the Cape Verdean Veterans Association, 
dedicating this post office; and we will have, I think, the ambassador 
and others, because this is a celebration of the triumph of a man. It 
is also a vindication of the American immigrant tradition, because it 
is a symbol of what the immigrants to this country have given to this 
country.
  Judge Leighton has done enormous service to America, and he is being 
honored at the request, as I say, of the city council and the mayor of 
the city of New Bedford, both for his own work and as a symbol of the 
Cape Verdean immigration to this country. So I very much appreciate 
what my colleagues have done.
  Mr. KENNEDY of Rhode Island. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support 
legislation to designate The Honorable Judge George N. Leighton Post 
Office Building in my neighboring State of Massachusetts. Judge 
Leighton was born to Cape Verdean immigrants in New Bedford, 
Massachusetts on October 22, 1912. Forced to leave school in the 
seventh grade to work on an oil tanker, he continued his education by 
reading books, attending night schools, and studying in Works Progress 
Administration classes. His education continued at the prestigious 
Howard University, where he graduated magna cum laude in 1940. He 
immediately enrolled in Harvard University's School of Law, but left to 
serve our Nation in World War II, where he earned a Bronze Star.
  After earning his LL.B. degree from Harvard in 1946 and establishing 
a successful law practice in Chicago, Judge Leighton began his career 
as a Judge of the Circuit Court of Cook County, Illinois from 1964 to 
1969. He then served as a Judge of the Appellate Court, First District 
from 1969 to 1976. In 1976, President Ford appointed Judge Leighton to 
the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois 
where he served until 1987 when he became legal Counsel to the Chicago 
law firm of Earl L. Neal & Associates.
  Judge Leighton is certainly a hero for the estimated 15,000 Cape 
Verdean individuals who currently live in my home State of Rhode 
Island. His life is an example of how one person can overcome great 
obstacles to truly achieve the American Dream. Among his several 
accomplishments and honors, Judge Leighton was the first African-
American lawyer to sit on the Board of Managers of the Chicago Bar 
Association, the first African-American judge to serve as a Chancellor 
in the Circuit Court of Cook County, and the first African-American 
judge to sit on the Illinois Appellate Court. I am pleased that his 
achievements have been recognized by the Congress with the naming of 
this post office and would once again like to offer my full support to 
this legislation.
  Mr. DAVIS of Illinois. Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my 
time.
  Mr. SHAYS. Mr. Speaker, I urge all Members to support the passage of 
the bill sponsored by the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Frank), 
H.R. 1542, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Issa). The question is on the motion 
offered by the gentleman from Connecticut (Mr. Shays) that the House 
suspend the rules and pass the bill, H.R. 1542.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds having voted in favor 
thereof) the rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

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